Attacks on Jews and the Jewish state are far from uncommon in the sermons and public appearances of imams in the U.S., writes Mohammed Al-Azdee. For instance:

In a series of interviews with the Egyptian Al-Nas and Al-Rahma TV channels in December 2008, Imam Salah Sultan, president of the American Center for Islamic Research (ACIR), a nonprofit organization registered in Ohio and headquartered in Columbus, spoke about the evil and violent nature of the Jews. . . . Imam Sultan referred to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a fabricated anti-Semitic text purporting to describe the Jews’ plan for world domination, to suggest that the conflict against the Jews is not only about Islam, but rather about the future of all of mankind.

Al-Azdee also notes how often such rhetoric fails to disguise anti-Semitism as mere anti-Zionism:

A vivid example in this regard is the way Imam Abolfazl Bahram Nahidian of the Manassas Mosque in Virginia criticized Israel while speaking to the crowd attending the 2010 Al-Quds Day Rally in Washington, DC. . . . It is evident, however, that Imam Nahidian was using Israel as a way to refer to Jews in general: “All the plots and the schemes that they make are to destroy humanity. They say, ‘The land, the leadership, and the wealth of the world belong to us, as the chosen people of God.’ Yes, they [the Jews] are the chosen people of God—to be the most devilish ones on the earth. They are doing that so they will stay above the rest of humanity.”

Congressional hearings show that the imams analyzed in this article are not just isolated cases. In 2021, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) published an archive of around 450 pages recording the hatred, anti-Semitism, and incitement in sermons by imams of mosques throughout the U.S. . . . But if any audience is still doubtful regarding these findings, I encourage them to search for . . . any statement of any imam in the U.S. in which the imam states that the Jews are not pigs, apes, filthy, evil, [or the like].

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.